Archaeology: Study of the Past

by John Warren
Tell Basta (Bubastis or Per-Bastet, meaning "The Domain
of Bastet) is the site of an ancient city about 80 km to the
northeast of Cairo in the eastern Nile Delta. The ancient
mound sets just to the southeastern side of modern Zagazig.
It was an important city from about the 4th Dynasty until the
end of the Roman Period (2613 BC through 395 AD), and was the
capital of the 18th Lower Egyptian nome during the Late
Period. However, we also know that even as early as the 2nd
Dynasty, a number of kings built up close ties with the city
and the Temple of Bastet. Besides the important Temple of
Bastet, the city also occupied key ground along the routs from
Memphis to the Sinai (Wadi Tumilat) and to Asia.

The city apparently reached its peak in importance during
the 22nd Dynasty, when Egypt was ruled by natives of the city
such as Osorkon
I (924-889 BC). However, the capital was
probably never moved from Tanis at that time, though some
sources disagree, believing that Tell Basta was in fact the
capital of Egypt during the 22nd and
23rd Dynasties.
The city was once apparently destroyed by the Persians, but
appears to have overcome the disaster.

Just as a notation, Tell Basta was apparently plundered
considerably by modern illicit digging. Stories still seem to
circulate in Egypt about people who became rich through a find
in its ruins.

This red granite temple of the cat goddess Bastet was
originally documented by Herodotus in the 5th century.
Herodotus tells us that the city was popular with religious
pilgrims who came here by the thousands for the goddess'
annual festival. He tells us this festival was one of the
grandest in Egypt. Herodotus also tells us that:

"When the Egyptians travel to Bubastis they do so in the following manner. Men
and women sail together, and in each boat there are many persons of both sexes.
Some of the women make a noise with rattles, and some of the men play pipes
during the whole journey, while the other men and women sing and clap their
hands. When they come to a town on the way, they lay to, and some of the
women land and shout and mock the women of the place, while others
dance and get up to mischief. They do this at every town lying on the Nile; but when they
come to Bubastis they begin the festival with great offerings and sacrifices, during
which more wine is consumed than during the whole of the rest of the year. The
Egyptians say that some 700,000 men and women make this pilgrimage every
year."

The site was excavated by Edouard Naville between 1887 and
1889. Though the site was so ruined that it was impossible to
reconstruct any more then the basic layout of the Temple of
Bastet, he confirmed much of what Herodotus originally wrote
about the site

Left: A Hathor Column Capital from Tell
Basta

While little is known of the layout of this temple, we
believe an entrance hall is attributable to Osorkon II of the
22nd Dynasty. Osorkon II seems to have added a festival
hall and hypostyle hall, while a sanctuary was built by
Nectanebo II of the 30th
Dynasty.

A monumental granite gateway built by Osorkon II for his
Sed-festival is a remarkable structure, decorated with scenes
taken from the Sed-festival reliefs of Amenhotep
III.

Blocks of various dates are found in the structure with
some even from the 4th Dynasty. Herodotus tells us that the
temple was already lower than the surrounding town in his day,
and partially surrounded by the branches of perhaps a sacred
lake. The temple was therefore probably very old.

Other Monuments

Naville also discovered ka-temples of the 5th Dynasty
rulers, Teti and
Pepi
I, and two jubilee chapels built by
Amenemhet III (Amenemhet I is also known to have built here)
and Amenhotep III. The ka-temple of Pepi I lies to the west of
the Temple of Bastet, but all that remains are two rows of
pillars. Teti's ka temple was to the northwest of the main
temple. To the southwest of the Temple of Bastet stood a
temple dedicated to Atum and built by Osorkon I or II.

Left: Part of the Great Granite Gateway
from Tell Basta Showing Osorkon II and Karoma

To the north stood a smaller rectangular sanctuary of the
lion god Mihos. In Egyptian mythology, Mihos was a son of
Bastet, as was Horhekenu, who was probably also worshipped in
the area. The small Mihos sanctuary appears to postdate the
Temple of Bastet, and to have been dedicated by Osorkon III.
Finally, there is also a Roman era temple that may have been
dedicated to Agathos Daimon, the "Protecting
Spirit".

Several burials of important officials have also been
discovered at Tel Basta. These include the vizier Iuti of the
19th Dynasty and two viceroys of Kush called Hori who were
father and son. Their burials were took place apparently at
the end of the 19th Dynasty and the beginning of the 20th
Dynasty.

To the north of the city are a series of vaulted mudbrick
cat necropolises and adjacent ateliers. These burials appear
to begin in the Third Intermediate Period. A cache of
gold and silver vessels and jewelry was discovered at the site
in 1906, which is now housed in the Egyptian Antiquity Museum
in Cairo.

Right: Ruins from the Temple of Bastet

Excavations
continue at Tell Basta. Recent finds include a necklace of golden flies
thought to be a military decoration awarded by the Pharaoh Ahmose over
3,500 years ago. The necklace, with 19 pendants in the shape of flies,
was found alongside a cartouche inscribed with the name of Ahmose, the
founder of the 18th dynasty who ruled from 1570 to 1546 BC. The head of
the archeological mission, Mahmoud Omar, speculated that the owner of
the necklace won it for military service against the Hyksos.

Buto was an ancient city located about 95 kilometers southeast of
Alexandria in the Egyptian Nile Delta. It stood on the Sebennytic
branch of the Nile, not too distant from its mouth, and was located
along the southern shore of the Butic Lake.

It is fairly clear that prior to Egypts unification around 3,000 BC,
the country was
probably controlled from the North by one group of people and in the south by
another. There were two lands, Upper (because it was up river), or Southern
Egypt and Lower, or Northern Egypt. We believe that at this time the most
important city in Lower Egypt was Nekhen
(Greek Hierakonpolis,
meaning "city of the falcon"). Even after Egypts unification during
the early dynasties, it remained an important city, and at times, might have
been considered Egypts capital. The Greek name for this city would indicate
that the chief deity worshipped was probably the Falcon God, Horus.

In the North, Nekhens counterpart was Buto, which we believe is the area
known as Tell el-Farain (meaning "mound of the pharaohs") today (though there is some uncertainty regarding this).
It is located near a small
village that still preserves the ancient name after 5,000 years. During ancient
times, it was in Nome VI (Mountain Bull). Just as Nekhen, Buto continued to be
an important center into the early dynasties of a united Egypt. We believe that
Buto is probably shown on the Narmer Palette as a major Delta center. Wilkinson
tells us that Qa'a's Tomb seal impression names a Royal Palace located at Buto
as Hwt Pe Hor Mesen (or Hwt Pe Hor Way), which was built during the 1st Dynasty and was still active during the third dynasty.

Buto probably came about as the merger of two different centers. The Pyramid
Text refers to the "kings of Lower Egypt who were in Pe. In some of the
references, Pe is associated with Horus,
the Falcon god, so early on Horus was probably worshipped in both Lower and
Upper Egypt. The text also references a place called Dep where the god Wadjet
was worshipped. Pe and Dep were apparently neighboring cities. Eventually, these
two cities together were called Per-Wadjet reflecting their two gods and from
this came the Greek name of Buto. Hence, the Wadjet cobra goddess is often
referred to as Buto. Egypt Mythology
also tells us that in the famous
story of Isis, Osiris,
Horus and Seth
that After Osiris was killed by Seth, Isis hid Horus near the sacred town of
Buto with the help of the goddess Hathor.

The remains of Buto consist of three mounds, comprising two cities and a
temple complex. The area was occupied into the Roman period, and was first
identified as ancient Buto by FlindersPetrie in 1888. In 1904, C. T. Currelly undertook trail excavations, but the
site was left mostly unexplored until the excavations and survey by Veronica
Seton-Williams and Dorothy Charlesworth in the 1960s. These initial excavations
revealed Late
Period, Ptolemaic and Roman remains, including cemeteries, houses,
baths and temples.

Predynastic remains were not discovered until the excavations of Thomas von
der Way in the 1980s. Part of Way's discoveries included clay 'nails' and what
has been called Grubenkopfnagel, which is a tapering cone with a concave
burnished end that resembles artifacts used in the Mesopotamian Uruk culture to
decorate temple facades. He also discovered pot shards decorated with whitish
stripes characteristic of the Syrian 'Amuq F ware. Because of this evidence,
Thomas von der Way suggested that even during this early period, the Delta
Egyptians had contact with the Uruk culture, perhaps through northern Syria.

Buto is actually a large site, most of which is
not open to the public

Other archaeology
finds shows that Buto was probably occupied for 500 years during the Predynastic
Period. Evidence from Buto suggests that this northern land was first influenced
by the style of pottery found in the south, and that later the region was
enveloped by southern
culture. Such finding suggest that development in the
North lagged behind that of Southern Egypt and supports the theory that
eventually it was Southern kings who unified Egypt.

Interestingly,
while considerable ruins dating to predyanstic Egypt and Egypt's late period
exist at Buto, there is little to suggest that Buto was any more then a small
village during most of the Old and
Middle Kingdom periods. Yet tomb paintings in
Middle Egypt and the south suggest that Buto remained a capital of the
North. Some archaeologists believe that the Egyptians used Buto more as a
symbolic capital for balance with the South. However, it was surely a religious
center, and Herodotus tells us that it was famous during Egypt's Persian period
for its oracles.

Excavations continue at Buto, and we find one of the latest dig reports
dating from Spring, 2000 from the Netherlands Foundation for Archaeological
Research in Egypt stating that:

"The DAI team directed by Ulrich Hartung excavated an area adjoining previous work, north
of Sekhmawy, exposing parts of the cell-like mud-brick foundations of four large Saite
buildings and domestic structures of an earlier Saite occupation. Cut into the brickwork were
remains of (early) Roman burials. Some of the cells contained round silos, others were
reused as tombs already in late Saite or Persian times. In building 2, a grave in one of the cells
contained burnt remains of 2 or 3 wooden coffins, over 500 shabtis and many faience
plaques and amulets. The revealed LP structures can now be compared with the results of last
season's geophysical survey done by Tomasz Herbich in the same area. Immediately
below the Saite remains, smaller walls and a deposit of beer-jars of ED date were exposed,
belonging to a large, probably administrative building of the 1st/2nd Dyns, of which other
parts have previously been revealed. "

Note that Dr. Hartung today works for the Deutsches
Archaologisches Institut, Cairo.

Today there is really not much to see at Buto, though there is a
small open-air museum, where there are some nice statues and stela, some upright
while others rest in the sand. Otherwise, there are many ancient mud brick
walls dating to the Greek and Roman Periods. As
elsewhere in the Delta, monumental sites have been largely ruined by water, and
in fact powerful pumps must be utilized for digs in the area because the predynastic levels are below the current water table.

Following years of archeological and sonar surveys in the Gulf of
Abu-Qeer, an Egyptian-French expedition
recently discovered important antiquities in two sites; the first is
Minotis, the eastern suburb of Canup lying 2km off-shore and the second
is the city of Heracleum, 6.5km off- shore.

Thousands of artifacts, including bronze coins mostly belonging
to the Ptolemic era, two gold coins, three colossal statues, two
paintings with Greek inscriptions, some
jewelry, several day-to-day utensils, earthenware and some amulets were
found.

Experts have described this find, in economic and tourist
terms, as next in importance to
the discoveries of Tutankhamun's tomb and the solar boats. The finds
were sent to the Roman Museum in Alexandria for restoration and
treatment
for salty contents.

When Alexander the Great
founded a new capital named after him, the town of Abu-Qeer formed the
eastern corner of Alexandria. Abu-Qeer comprised three suburbs, Canup,
Heracleum and Minotis. The first lay in the hinterland, the second on
the coast, serving as the main
harbor and the third on the left.
At Heracleum, which housed the Greek temple of Hercules for which the
city was named,
the extinct Canupian branch of the Nile flowed into the Mediterranean.

Over time, the coast at Abu-Qeer eroded, resulting in the submersion of the entire
suburb and harbor of Heracleum and Minotis. Only some remains of old Conup, known now as Abu-Qeer, still survive.

So far, an area of almost 1000 m
x 800 m has been explored. Remains of vast buildings, harbor basins and
the wreckage of a dozen old sunken ships have been examined.. Various
theories on why the area sank into the Mediterranean have been discussed,
including theories of earthquakes and large waves.

According
to both Egyptian and French sides, the most significant discoveries at
Heracleum consist of a 195-cm-high black granite plaque, known as
Necrates plaque. This is an intact replica of the famous Necrates
plaque found in 1899 and kept at present with the
Egyptian Museum. The plaque refers to a decree by king
Nektanbu I (378 BC
- 362 BC) ordering a 10 percent tax imposed on Greek trade passing
through the harbor. The tax would be paid to the the treasury of the
goddess Nut's temple. The plaque was to be placed at the harbor
entrance. According to Herodotus, Heracleum was the mandatory port of
entry to Egypt for all foreign ships arriving from the Greek Sea
(Mediterranean).

The plaque provides some interesting insights. First, the plaque belongs
to an era prior to the Ptolemic (Greek) kings. Therefore Heracleum and
Abu-Qeer existed before the creation of Alexandria. Therefore Herodotus
was probably accurate when he wrote that Herodotus' history began in the New
Kingdom. Herodotus' assumption has remained unsupported by evidence, until this discovery was made.

Also, even though the 30th Dynasty of Nektanbu I is considered to be an era of
weakness and decline, the empire still preserved its financial and religious
systems.

The joint expedition also found three statues that lay for 2300 years in saline water but ultimately
were in very good condition. These include a statue of the goddess Isis,
shown as a female rather than a deity.
The great detail of the deity's face and body indicates that the
abstractionist trend of ancient Egyptian sculpture took a sensual turn,
characteristic of
Greco- Roman art.

The nearly 2m high statue, basically made of granite, reflects
a combination of the features of both the ancient Egyptian and Greek
schools of sculpture.
This trend dominated Egypt and the entire Mediterranean basin after the
invasion of Alexander the Great.

Three colossal statues were extracted but their names and identities have not yet been
determined. The three statues were completely buried in the sea bed nearby walls of the submerged city.

There is evidence of the Heracleum temple as well. The three statues, each 5m high and
several ton in weight represent a king, queen and deity Hapi (god of the Nile and flood) respectively. Nearby there was a colossal coffin made of one whole piece of rosy
granite dating to the Ptolemic era. Inscriptions on the coffin mentions the god Amun, the supreme deity of Pharaonic Egypt.

It was the habit of the Greeks to associate the god Amun with Zeus, their god of
gods, and Amun's son, Khonsu
with their god Hercules. Hence it can be said that the Hercleum temple had existed
in this area.

A collection of sphinxes were also found, in addition to a rare gold coin
dating to Ptolemy I, the founder of Ptolemic Dynasty.

The coin, one of two still in existence, clearly showed on one face his
portrait and a cart drawn by four elephants led by Alexander the Great
on the other.

Also Found were some bronze coins belonging to the eras of Ptolemy II and
Ptolemy IV, together with one coin dating back to
Cleopatra'sreign.
Other finds included a large collection of tableware including well
made bronze utensils of various sizes showing seals and logos. All
these were indicative of elegant urban life at the time.

Among other discoveries were colored, elaborate earthenware, similar
to Greek utensils, with exquisite Ptolemic inscriptions, a rare wooden
headrest similar to those found in Pharaonic tombs, in addition to
collection of gold earrings, small bronze rings and an elaborate bronze
mirror. Other coins found showed portraits and names of kings and
queens of the Ptolemic era, tableware and, earthenware and jewelry
buried deep in the sea bed.

These discoveries, particularly the Heracleum plaque, colossal statues and the temple coffin,
reveal the Egyptian name and location of this sunken city, together with significant and basic
indicators of the topography of the Canup era. The discovery of Heracleum harbor
and the wreckage of ten sunken ships promises more significant discoveries in
the future.

These recent discoveries give proof to
facts earlier referred to in ancient texts mixed with legends. Although
Hercules was known during his time for his adventures around the world,
he had a role to play in Egypt. According to the Greek historian Diudor
the Sicilian, once there was an overwhelming Nile flood that broke all
barriers, whereupon Hercules soon blocked all gaps and restored the
river back to its course. In recognition of his feat, the city dwellers
built a temple named for him.

Greek historian Herodotus says that when the beautiful Helen eloped with her lover Paris from her jealous husband
Menelaus, they tried to take refuge in this area. But Toins, guard of the Nile mouth refused to help them for moral reasons.

According to legend, Toins was a king of Egypt, after whom the
city was named. This explains why the city had two names. Since the
beginning of the
New Kingdom and long before the rise of Alexandria, Heracleum-Toins was
Egypt's gateway to the
Mediterranean.

Nikratj (Greek Naukratis, modern Kom Gi'eif) was a Milesian
Greek settlement on the Canopic branch of the Nile in the
Western Delta. However, scholars believe that
Corinthians may have early on inhabited the city, with the
Milesian Greeks arriving later. The City is located about 16 km from
Sais,
the capital of the 26th
Dynasty. Nearby, there is a modern
village that seems to have preserved the ancient name as
el-Niqrash.

The question of the position of Naukratis has long
been an undecided one; and for the very good reason that no
part of the world, so close to a large Western population,
and so essential to archaeology, is such unknown ground as
the Delta of Egypt. There are hundreds of English
travelers who are familiar with Upper Egypt and its downs;
but it would be easier to find anyone to give a scientific
personal account of the sources of the Nile, than one who
could give an archaeological account of the remains thickly
scattered about its mouths.

The
problem is that thousands upon thousands of years of flood
waters and dampness in Egypt's Delta has destroyed most of the
monuments in the area, and those that remain are often buried beneath
a thick layer of silt.

Herodotus tells us that Ahmose II gave the site to the
Greeks, along with a monopoly on sea trade to Egypt. He also
tells us that it was the first and only city in which the
early Greek merchants were allowed to settle and so from that
standpoint along the city has considerable historical
importance. However,
historians believe that Ahmose only reorganized an existing
settlement of foreigners, providing them with new trading privileges.
We know of the city's existence from at least 688 BC due to a
passage of Athenaios in which he mentions a merchant of
Naukratis trading there from Cyprus in the twenty-third
Olympiad. Besides, Herodotos tells us that Ahmoses
"gave the city of Naukratis ", indicating that the
city existed to be given. In fact, Petrie provides some
evidence that the city existed from a very remote
time,
though most of his earliest discoveries appear to date no
earlier then the middle of the seventh century BC.

In some respects, Naukratis may be more famous from a Greek
standpoint then from the Egyptian side. It is often
referenced in modern accounts of ancient Greek colonization
and we know that it was an important and busy trading center
that granted Greeks access to Egyptian grain and luxury items.
However, it was obviously under strict control of the Egyptian
pharaoh, and the town is important from the standpoint of
understanding Graeco-Egyptian relations during the seventh and
sixth centuries BC.

The Site was excavated by Flinders Petrie in 1884-1885 and
was later investigated by F. Li. Griffin and D. G. Hogarth in
the 1980s. Apparently work continues today. We are
told by Amelia Ann Blanford Edwards in her publication,
Pharaohs Fellahs and Explorers that it was famous for
the skill of its potters and the taste of its florists!
She tells us that Petrie turned up inscriptions, coins, sculptures,
bronzes, terra-cottas and other treasures at the site. An
interesting story has Petrie coming upon the remains of a
jeweler's workshop, containing a quantity of lump silver, and
a large store of beautiful archaic Greek coins, fresh from the
mint of Athens. The coins were never in circulation, and
were probably intended to be made into jewelry. However,
there were probably some coins actually struck in Naukratis,
and these would comprise the only coinage known from Pharaonic
Egypt.

The so-called stele of Naukratis,
a perfectly intact stele, was unearthed on the site a little over a
century ago (1899). Interestingly, and also uniquely, an
identical stele was recently found during the underwater
excavations off the coast of Alexandria. The engravings on the
stele, now located in the Egyptian museum, are particularly
fine. The stele contains a decree of
Nectanebo I relating to a
levy of ten percent tax on goods coming into the port at
Naukratis,
as
well as goods manufactured in the city. The tax was for
the benefit of the temple of Neith (at Sais). Some account
give Naukratis a complete and absolute monopoly on foreign sea
trade during this period.

Some structures still exist at the site, including the
temples of Dioscuri, Apollo, Hera and Aphrodite, as well as a
scarab factory. However, there is really very little to
see, as most of these facilities are in complete ruin.
Nevertheless, study of the ruins will probably continue for
some time due to the importance of the city.

The modern village of Qantir (Khatana-Qantir) marks what was
probably the ancient site of Ramesses
II's great capital, Pi-Ramesse or Per-Ramesses
("House or Domain of Ramesses").
This
city is situated about 9 kilometers (5.5 miles) north of
Faqus in Sharqiya province of the eastern Nile Delta
(about 60 miles north-east of Cairo).

Right: An enameled plaque from Qantir

It is known that Ramesses II moved the ancient Egyptian
capital from southern Egypt into the Delta, probably both to
escape the influence of the powerful priests at Thebes, and
to be nearer to the costs of modern Turkey and Syria in
order to protect Egypt's borders.

The location of this city, well known from documentation,
was long in question. However, in the 1920s, decorated
tiles, including some with the name of Seti I and Ramesses
II were discovered in the area.

More recently, beginning in the 1970s, the site was
examined by a German expedition, and the Austrian
Archaeological Institute under the direction of Manfred
Bietak. They have been using magnetometer (gradumeter) to
map out the long lost city. This relatively new method of
archaeological discovery is mostly non-intrusive, and in
many cases where the land is agricultural in nature, is the
only suitable method of exploring a site. By late 1999, some 75,000 square meters
had been measured in the fields around Qantir, and domestic areas, administrative
quarters of a vast palace-temple compound, a possible cemetery and a region with poorer houses
were defined.

Their
work firmly established the site as Pi-Ramesse, with ruins
stretching as far as Tell
el-Dab'a to the south covering an area of some thirty
square kilometers. Edgar Pusch, head of the German
archaeological team, tells us that, "Something like
this has never been detected before in Egypt". The
computer plottings made by the team show winding streets,
structures that look like small houses, spacious buildings,
palaces and a lakeshore. Some of the amazing finds include a
huge stable, to which was attached royal chariot and arms
factories.

Covering nearly 17,000 sq. meters, the stable had six identical rows of
halls connected to a vast courtyard. Each hall had 12 rooms, each 12
meters long. The floors sloped down to holes for collecting horse urine
that Pusch speculates was used in dyeing cloth, softening leather and
fertilizing vineyards."

Apparently, these stables were able to hold as many as
460 horses and is the largest ancient stable ever
discovered. There were actually two layers of stables, with
the larger and later stables probably having been built by
Ramesses III.

"Horses
were very important in the expansion of the Egyptian empire and these
stables were built on a strategic location close to the trade routes
leading to Lebanon and Syria, and not very far from the Hittites"

Mohamed El-Saghir, Head of the Pharaonic
Antiquities Department in the SCA.

Below
the two stable layers, workshops for the manufacture of
glass, faience and Egyptian blue were found, and below this
layer, a palace like complex was found that contained a
gilded gold floor overlaying stucco with an embedded
polychrome cartouche of Ramesses II.

In ancient times, there were many more branches of the
Nile river located in the Delta, but only two remain. Pi
Ramesse was located on an extinct branch that dried out
beginning in the 20th
Dynasty. Hence, kings of the 21sty
Dynasty moved virtually all the monuments, item by item,
to the new capital at Tanis
(as well as to other cities).

It is probable that a number of temples were located
within this ancient city. These religious centers included a
great temple of Re, along with other temples to Amun, Ptah
and Sutekh
(Set, or Seth). The remains of the temple dedicated to
Sutekh have been located in the southern part of the city.
There were probably many other smaller temples and chapels.
We believe that among these were temples dedicated to Wadjit
and Astarte.

Unfortunately, it will probably require another twenty years
for the Magnetic mapping alone to be finished. Proper excavations
of such an areas as the stables would require a lifetime to
complete.

Sais (Sa el-Hagar)
by John Warren

Sais, known as Zau in ancient Egyptian and today as Sa el-Hagar,
is located in Egypt's Delta. It was the county's capital
during the 26th
Dynasty late in Egypt's history and was at various other
times an important center. The city is known from the very
beginning of Egyptian history from wooden labels associated
with King Aha. It was probably always the capital of the 4th
Lower Egyptian nome, which, until the 12th Dynasty, also
incorporated what was to become the 4th nome. However, the
city really came into a prominent position towards the end of
the 8th century BC when Tefnakhte
and Bocchoris (24th
Dynasty) rivaled the Nubian kings of the 25th
Dynasty. It was also a major center for the worship of the
Goddess Neith.

Regrettably, the history of Egypt is skewed, particularly
to the average reader, to the desert areas where the Pyramids
are located and to the southern regions around Luxor
and Aswan. The
reason for this is that in the Delta, monuments are most often
in a much worse state of repair due to water damage. We
may never know the splendors that might have been because the
ancient building projects are often either completely gone, or
only fragmentary bits and pieces remain.

Left: Statue of the 26th Dynasty Ruler
probably found at Sais.

This is the case with Sais. While it was an important
center, not much remains and much of what we know comes from
documentary evidenced found elsewhere as opposed to
archaeological discoveries at Sais itself. In fact, It is Herodotus
who mostly tells us of its temples, royal palaces and
tombs. There have actually been few archaeological
excavations around the city, and those that have been carried
out have for the most part been small and unsuccessful. Even
as late as the middle of the 19th century, there were some
remaining mud brick walls, but by the end of that century,
only a trace could be found of a huge rectangular enclosure.
The rapid demise in this case was probably due to farmers who
use the mud brick for fertilizer. Stone blocks were reused in
the Middle Ages, and today, only isolated stone blocks remain.

However, in 1997, the Egyptian Exploration Society did
mount a fairly substantial survey to Sais, and they appear to
continue some work in the area. They were able to trace
the last vestiges of the enclosure wall. They have turned up
some interesting data, including core samples that seem to
contain pottery shards from the predynastic
period. And while their evidence suggests that after
the Saite kings, the city shrank back to its most glorious
period, indications are that the Temple of Neith may have
rivaled in size and splendor that of the Temple
of Karnak. The society maintains that, contrary to
appearances, there is probably considerable excavation work
that needs to be carried out in the area.

Right: A statue of Chief of Physicians,
Psammetik-seneb, originally installed in Sais.

What is more evident from Sais is a substantial number of
artifacts, including statues, stelae and sarcophagi scattered
about in various museums throughout the world. Most of
these date from the 26th Dynasty, but none so far have turned
up that are earlier than the 3rd Intermediate Period.

We know, for example, that that
Amasis (Ahmose II) was an extremely active builder within
the city, erecting a pylon for the Temple of Neith, setting up
colossal statues and even creating a human-headed sphinx
processional way. The enclosure of Neith where her main
cult center was located seems to have been a focus of building
projects and the Kings of the 26th Dynasty were interred in
chapel tombs in the courtyard of her temple. However,
there were also provisions for other Egyptian gods including Osiris,
Horus,
Sobek,
Atum,
Amun, Bastet,
Isis,
Nekhbet,
Wadjet
and Hathor.

There were specifically building projects surrounding the
God, Osiris, including a burial place and a sacred lake where
rituals of the Festival of the Resurrection of Osiris were
celebrated. This site was impressive, with obelisks and
other adornments that are now mostly ruined.

Today Sais is not really a tourist destination and most
non-archaeological visits are met with disappointment.
However, the city may one day help Egyptologists better
understand the structure of communities and their inhabitants
in the Delta.

Tanis (San El-Hagar)
by Jimmy Dunn

Whether
Tanis is considered to be the most important
archaeological site in Egypt's northern Delta or not, it is
almost certainly one of the largest and most impressive.
Nevertheless, it is characterized by an eclectic reuse of materials
that were usurped from other locations and earlier reigns.
Tanis was actually its Greek name. We are told that its ancient
Egyptian name was Djanet. Tanis was built upon the
Nile distributary known as Bahr Saft, which is now only a small
silted up stream that dispatches into Lake Manzalla.

Napoleon Bonaparte had the site surveyed in the late 1700s, but
afterwards, in the early 1800s, most of the work at Tanis was
concerned with the collection of statuary. Jean-Jacques Rifaud took
two large pink granite sphinxes to Paris, where
they became a part
of the Louvre collection. Other statues were taken to Saint
Petersburg and Berlin. Henry Salt and Bernardino Drovetti found
eleven statues, some of which were also sent to the Louvre, but also
to Berlin and Alexandria, though those sent to
Alexandria are
now lost.

Mariette was followed by Flinders Petrie,
who excavated here between 1883-86. Petrie made a detailed plan of
the temple precinct, copied inscriptions and excavated exploratory
trenches. Roman era papyrus discovered by Petrie are now in the
British Museum.

Pierre Montet, excavated at Tanis between 1921 and 1951,
and the site is still being
excavated by the French today. It was Montet who conclusively
proved that Tanis could not have been
Avaris (Tell el-Dab'a) or
Piramesse. Montet also
discovered royal tombs of the
21st and 22nd
Dynasties at Tanis in 1939, but his discovery resulted in
little recognition
because of the outbreak of World War II.
The tombs were all subterranean and built from mud-brick and
reused stone blocks, many of which were inscribed. Four
of the tombs belonged to Psusennes
I (1039-991 BC), Amenemope
(993-984 BC), Osorkon II (874-850 BC) and
Sheshonq III
(825-733 BC). The occupants of the other two tombs are
unknown. However, the hawk-headed silver coffin of Sheshonq II
was also found in Psusennes' tomb, as well as the coffin and
sarcophagus of Amenemope. The sarcophagus of Takelot II
(850-825 BC) was found in the tomb of Osorkon II. The artifacts from the Tanis necropolis are the most
important source of knowledge covering royal funerary goods of
the
Third Intermediate Period.

During the
Old
and
Middle Kingdoms, the region was known as the Field of Dja'u,
which was a good fishing and fowling preserve. Today, the area is
often called San al-Hagar, which actually
refers to the northern
tell (or hill) where much of the site is located. San al-Hagar is
actually the largest tell in Egypt, encompassing some 177 hectares
of land, and rising about 32 meters. However, there is also a
southern mound known as Tulul el-Bid. San al-Hagar is also the name
of the local village, which was built upon the western quay of
ancient Tanis.

Originally, the region was a part of the thirteenth nome
(province), but Tanis became
the capital of the nineteenth Lower Egyptian nome in the late
period (747-332 BC). The earliest mention of the town is known
from a 19th Dynasty
building block of Ramesses
II discovered at
Memphis. However,
nothing at the site itself suggest an existence prior to the
20th Dynasty.
20th Dynasty burials lie under an enclosure wall, which indicate
a settlement, but the greater metropolis was probably not founded
until the reign of
Ramesses XI, the last king of the 20th Dynasty, when Egypt was
divided between two rulers. It became the northern capital of Egypt
during the 21st
Dynasty. It was probably the home city of
Smedes,
the founder of that Dynasty and, since one of his
canopic jars was found in the vicinity, probably the location of
his tomb. Though there were rival cities, we believe it remained
Egypt political capital during the
22nd Dynasty.

By the Roman
Period, the port of Tanis had silted up, and Tanis became a
fairly minor village. Most of the temple limestone was burned for
its lime at that time. During
Byzantine times,
Tanis became a small bishopric, but it was eventually abandoned
during Islamic times, and was not resettled until the reign of
Muhammad Ali Pasha.

There were a number of temples, seven according to the Egyptian
government, located in the area of Tanis. The chief deities
worshiped here were
Amun,
his consort,
Mut and their child
Khonsu,
who formed the Tanite Triad. Note that this triad is, however,
identical to that of
Thebes,
leading many scholars to refer to Tanis as the "northern Thebes".

The earliest recorded building at Tanis dates to the reign
of Psusennes
I,
Smedes's probable successor during the 21st
Dynasty. He was responsible for the huge mud-brick
enclosure wall surrounding the temple of
Amun
between four ranges of hills on Tell San el-Hagar. which he erected
in a depression of virgin sand some eight meters above the flood
plain using earlier blocks quarried from structures at
Piramesse, The wall measures 430 by 370
meters 10 meters tall, and was 15 meters thick. Within
the outer wall is a mud-brick interior wall. Joint
inscriptions of Psusennes I and
Pinudjem I within the temple indicate a reconciliation between
the thrones of Tanis and
Thebes.

However, rulers from the
21st and
early 22nd Dynasties
Nectanebo I Psamtek to construct the sacred
lake. added to the temple complex, and (380-362 BC) used stone from earlier building
projects of Sheshonq and

An obelisk at Tanis clearly connected with
Ramesses II, from the cartouch

Today the site is full of inscribed and decorated blocks,
columns, obelisks and statues of various dates, some inscribed
with the names of rulers such as Khufu,
Khephren,
Teti,
Pepi I
and II and
Senusret
I. However, the majority of
inscribed monuments are connected with Ramesses
II, though
these items must have been brought in for there is no evidence
that the
site dates from before the reign of Psusennes
I. He is
positively attested by foundation deposits in the sanctuary in
the easternmost part of the great temple. Other later kings are also attested to through foundation
deposits.
Egyptologists believe that the artifacts of Ramesses II
were probably imported from ancient
Piramesse, which we today identify with the modern town
of Qantir.

Near the southwestern corner of the main temple complex are smaller temples dedicated to Mut and
Khonsu. Astarte, an
Asiatic goddess, was also worshiped in these smaller temple,
which were originally built under the reign of
Siamun
(984-965 BC). This construct therefore completed the
ensemble of structures fashioned after
Karnak, and thus making Tanis into a northern replica of
Thebes.

There were other structures within the enclosure wall, in
particular a
sed-festival chapel and a
temple of Psamtik
I, but these were some of the stones
used by Nectanebo I in his building efforts. Osorkon II
usurped many of the earlier monuments of the Amun Temple to
built an East Temple, using granite palmiform columns
dating to the
Old Kingdom that were re-inscribed first by Ramesses
II prior to their reuse, and then once again by himself.
Sheshonq III
built the West Gate of the temple precinct from reused
obelisks and temple blocks, some from the
Old
and
Middle Kingdom. It was fronted by a colossal statue usurped from Ramesses
II.

During the Late Period, the Nubian king
Piye
of the 25th Dynasty
conquered Tanis and
King Taharqa, a successor made it his residence for a short
time. Some reliefs from that dynasty have been found reused in the
Sacred Lake's walls. Afterwards, Tanis passed back and forth between
Nubian, Assyrian and Saite rulers until the
26th Dynasty, when
Psamtik built a kiosk at Tanis. It featured a procession of nome
gods, but this structure was later dismantled and reused in other
structures. During the First Persian Occupation of Egypt, no further
building seems to have taken place at Tanis.

Necktanebo I, during the
30th Dynasty,
probably was responsible for an enormous outer wall built of brick,
as well as a temple to
Khonsu
that was annexed to the northern side of the old Amun temple, near
the Northern Gate. However, it was not completed until the
Ptolemaic period.
There was also a temple of
Horus,
near the East Gate, that was begun during the 30th Dynasty, but it
too was completed by the Ptolemies.
Ptolemy I built the East Gate of the precinct, and
Ptolemy II and Arsinoe dedicated a small brick chapel, while
Ptolemy IV built a temple in the southwestern Mut enclosure.
However, by this time, the Amun temple was almost certainly
abandoned, as there were Ptolemaic era housed built over the
structure.

Today, the site of Tanis mostly consists of large mounts of
occupational debris. The temple precinct lies in the middle of these
mounds. The huge enclosure walls are now mostly gone, and one may
enter the site from several directions, though the classical route
is through the ruined pylon of
Sheshonq III.
Within, the site is littered with fallen statuary, reused columns
ranging in date from the
Old
through the
New
Kingdoms, around fifteen reused
obelisks of Ramesses
II, and reused temple blocks from all periods. At the
center of the Amun temple are two deep wells
that once served as
Nilometers. The
northern corner is the site of the ancient Sacred Lake, while at the
southeastern corner, outside the main temple precinct, is the
smaller precinct where the temples of
Mut,
Khonsu
and Astarte
were located.

Tanis is probably not one of those sites one would wish to visit
on a one time, short tour of Egypt. However, for those on a second
trip, or with a little additional time, it is a very nice tour
through Egypt's Delta, including perhaps a stopover at
Tell
Busta, further south. Such a tour would usually only take one
day.

The Royal Tombs of Tanisby Jimmy Dunn

A view of the royal necropolis at Tanis

The tombs of a number of kings of the Third
Intermediate Period were constructed at Tanis
(modern San el-Hagar). During the Third Intermediate Period,
Tanis was the principal seat of government and in all, seven
burials of rulers from the 21st
and 22nd
Dynasties have been found there since 1939. By no
means does this represent all of the kings of these two
dynasties, with the notable absences being Smedes
(Smendes) and Amenemnisu
of the 21st Dynasty, and Shoshenq
I and Osorkon
I of the 22nd Dynasty.

Montet first discovered the royal necropolis at Tanis
in 1939, after spending some time concentrating on the temple area of
this district. The superstructures of the earlier tombs had been
cleared away by subsequent domestic building by the Ptolemies,
so these tombs were largely hidden. The archaeologists had been given clues by finding a gold
amulet and
canopic jars of Osorkon in the area, but it came as a great surprise when, on February
27th, 1939, Montet and his team found their first tomb (now called NRT- I) close to the
southwestern corner of the temple.

Osorkon
II
was buried in a gigantic granite sarcophagus with a lid carved from a
Ramesside period group statue, but only some debris of a hawk-headed coffin
and canopic jars
remained in the robbed tomb to identify this king. His young son Harnakht who had the title of
High Priest of
Amun at
Tanis
and who had died before his father, shared Osorkon II's burial chamber.
Takelot I (formerly identified as
Takelot II) was buried in a
Middle Kingdom sarcophagus in a redecorated chamber of the tomb with a few remains of burial equipment inscribed for
Osorkon I. Another chamber contained the remains of a reburial of
Shoshenq III. There is the possibility that Shoshenq V was also
subsequently buried in NRT I, evidenced by his canopic equipment.

Interestingly, however, an architectural study of tomb NRT-I
clearly shows that it was constructed before NRT-III,
resulting in suggestions that the historical order that has
normally been assigned to their occupants should be reversed.
The outer wall of tomb NRT-1 was trimmed to accommodate NRT-III
and also NRT-III's chambers were arranged to avoid the earlier
tomb. Hence, this chronological anomaly has been used to argue
that Osorkon
II (22nd
Dynasty), actually preceded Psusennes
I (21st
Dynasty) on the throne. The gap in the royal sequence has
also been used, along with another gap in the sequence of Apis
bulls at Saqqara,
to support a radical revision of the relative placement of kings
and dynasties during this period.

However, the issue of Osorkon
II's tomb and the lack of a tomb for Smedes
are intimately connected to the issue of dating the reigns of
these kings.
It has been shown that there is enough structure evidence to
support a conclusion that considerable modifications were made
to NRT-I. Furthermore, both NRT-I and NRT-III are unique at Tanis.
Both of these tombs have granite burial chambers within a
basic limestone structure, while all the other tombs built at
Tanis were constructed purely of limestone, and are much
simpler in design.

Considering the modification that were made to NRT-I, it
has been suggested that this tomb very likely originally
belonged to Smedes.
One of his canopic jarsOsorkon
II added decorations to this tomb, as well as altering the
eastern part of the burial chamber, providing a sarcophagus
for his father, Takelot I,
as well as a new sarcophagus for himself. In doing so, he
dismantled the west wall of the burial chamber, also adding a
sarcophagus for his son. Therefore, rather than a radical
revision of the 21st
and 22nd
Dynasties, we have instead an usurped tomb which was not
at all uncommon in Egypt.
was purchased nearby this tomb, and though there was no trace
of any decoration belonging to him in NRT-I, this means
nothing, for tombs NRT-II, IV, VI and VII all had their walls
left bare. Apparently,

If we allocate NRT-I initially to Smedes,
this still leaves Amenemnisu
without a tomb. It is possible that this king was buried in
NRT-VI, though considering an epithet within his cartouche
naming him as "Ruler of Thebes",
it is also possible that he was buried in southern
Egypt.

However, the next two kings of the 21st
Dynasty, Psusennes
I and Amenemope
(Amenope) both have tombs at Tanis,
although the mummy of Amenemope was latter placed in NRT-III.
The tomb of Psusennes I was an amazing find, with five
chambers and containing the silver falcon-headed coffin
of Shoshenq II,
who before the tomb's discovery was unknown to Egyptologists.
Two completely decayed mummies
in the antechamber of NRT-III appear, strictly on the basis of
funerary
figurines found with them, to be those of Siamun
and Psusennes
II (the last ruler of the 21st Dynasty). They may have
been buried in this modest fashion because of the eclipse of
the 21st Dynasty line that accompanied the foundation of the 22nd
Dynasty. Psusennes I's burial chamber was discovered lying
undisturbed behind a decorated wall. He was interred in a
granite sarcophagus which had once belonged to Merenptah,
the 19th
Dynasty ruler and son of Ramesses
II. Within this sarcophagus, was a granite coffin which in
turn contained a coffin
of solid silver, a gold mummy-board and a solid gold mask
covering the face of Psusennes I.

Around the sarcophagus were piled his canopic jars,
funerary
figurines and other burial
goods, a rich find indeed. A chamber on the other side of that of
Psusennes I
was prepared for his mother, Queen Mutnodjmet, but her sarcophagus was found to contain the body of king
Amenemope, encased in a
coffin
of gilded wood. Another chamber was found to contain the empty coffin
of a general Ankhefenmut, but it was not until excavations resumed
after World War II (this time by Alexandre Lezine) that a final chamber
was found which revealed the undisturbed burial of another military
man, Wendjebauendjed along with quantities of jewelry and burial
equipment.

After Amenemope,
no dedicated royal tomb is known at Tanis
until the time of Osorkon
II. It is unclear why Amenemope was buried in the tomb of Psusennes
I, for he had his own tomb, NRT-IV, prepared with a
beautiful sarcophagus. After Osorkon II, Shoshenq
III, who was buried in a sarcophagus which was originally
a 13th Dynasty
lintel, built his own tomb (NRT-V). His funeral was probably
conducted by Shoshenq
IV, whose own sarcophagus was found in this tomb alongside
that of his predecessor.

Unfortunately, nothing is known of the burials of the first
Libyan kings, consisting of Osochor, Shoshenq
I and Osorkon
I, with the exception of the canopic
chest of Shoshenq I now in Berlin. However, the province
of its discovery is unknown. Possibly, one of these kings
could have been buried in NRT-VI, but this is a very modest
tomb and it is unlikely that it belonged to either Shoshenq I
or Osorkon I.

One possible clue to the problem of the tombs at Tanis
surrounds a third body, belonging to Shoshenq
II, that was found in the antechamber of the tomb
belonging to Psusennes
I. Shoshenq II was probably a co-regent of Osorkon
I. He was interred in a silver coffin
which showed evidence of having been moved to this location
from elsewhere. There was plant growth discovered on the mummy
which was consistent with it having originally stood in water,
and there is no evidence of flooding in NRT-III. Hence, the mummy
had first been buried in a different tomb which was subjected
to standing water, presumably well away from Tanis. If
Shoshenq II's burial occurred originally elsewhere, then so
too might have the burials of earlier members of his family,
perhaps near Bubastis,
which seems to have been the home town for members of the new
dynasty.

This scenario would also explain Osorkon
II's usurpation of an old tomb rather than the building of
a new one, as well as the situation of providing a chamber
within it for his father. It is likely that the flooding of
the tombs of Shoshenq
II and Takelot I,
and perhaps even his own intended tomb, could have forced
Osorkon II back to the old necropolis at Tanis.

What the tombs of Tanis
give us is a wealth of information about the burial customs of this
period and a clearer idea of the genealogy of the rulers and family and
political relationships between Tanis and Thebes. The kings of
the 21st Dynasty liked to reuse sarcophagi or usurp older pieces from the
New or
Middle Kingdom periods. Their tombs were furnished with a considerable amount of equipment in the form of vessels and precious metals,
funerary
figurines and canopic jars,
which perhaps could be said to demonstrate their attachment to the
burial traditions of the past. The technical capabilities of the
craftsmen and metalworkers probably equaled those of the earlier New
Kingdom. However, in comparison to the New Kingdom tombs, those at
Tanis are meager and there was apparently a tendency to eliminate the
everyday objects in preference to specific funerary and magical items.
Likely, the Tanis burials reveal the poverty of the northern kings, who
seemed to have quantities of precious metals at their disposal but had
to re-use sarcophagi and canopic jars from earlier burials. Today,
excavation work is still being conducted at Tanis, so while there are
many questions remaining, perhaps one day the mysteries of the Third
Intermediate Period will eventually be solved.

For Information on Ezbet Rushdi, Tell Far'un
(Tell Fara'un), Kom el-Hisn (ancient Imu), Kom Abu Billo
(known to the Greeks as Terenuthis) and Tell el-Maskhuta nearIsmaliya,
see part
two of this series..
For information on Tell el-Muqdam (Leontopolis), Tell el-Qirqafa and
Tell el-Rub'a (Tell El Robee, Greek Mendes) see part
three in this series and for information on Tell el-Retaba, Saft
el-Hinna, Samannud (Sebennytos) and Tell el-Yahudiya, see
part four.

It is very easy to think that most building activity occurred in southern
Egypt, but this is because the conditions in the Egyptian delta are not
conducive to surviving structures. For all of the period prior to the building
of the High Dam just south of Aswan, it was flooded yearly, burying any
buildings remains which are often even underneath the water table! Often, our
best source of information on these temples and other remains are not
archaeological digs, but ancient documentation.

This area is not to be confused with the pyramid field named Abusir
near Saqqara. It is
located about 48 km (30 miles) west of Alexandria, and is the site of the
ancient Taposiris
Magna, which was an important city of the Ptolemaic Period. The temple
we call Taposiris Mana probably dates from the same period. The temple was
dedicated to Osiris. Only the outer wall, which were strangely made of
limestone, while most other structures in the Delta during this period were made
of mudbrick, and the pylons remain from the temple. There is evidence to prove that
sacred animals were worshipped there. Archeologists found an animal necropolis near the
temple. Remains of a Christian church show that the temple was used as a church in later
centuries. Also found in the same area are remains of public baths built by the emperor
Justinian, a seawall, quays and a bridge. Near the beach side of the area, we can see the
remains of a tower built by Ptolemy II Philadelphus. The tower was an exact replica of the
destroyed Alexandria's Pharos Lighthouse.

Tell Atrib (Athribis)

This site is located just to the northeast of the modern
town of Benha on the
Damietta branch of the
Nile, about 48 miles north of Cairo. It is the
site of ancient Hut-hery-ib, called Athribis by the Greeks.
Today, it is called Kom Sidi Youssuf. It
was the capital of this nome (10th), and the city's history dates
back into the Old Kingdom period. A number of kings built
here, including Amenhotep
III, who's northernmost building
project was a temple in the city. It is now completely gone,
but the remains of a number of temples has been located.
Several of these date to the Graeco-Roman period, and another
dates to the reign of the King Amasis, of Egypt's Late Period.
Unfortunately, the ruins are too destroyed to even allow a
full
reconstruction. Most of the minor monuments found here
can be dated to the 25th through
30th Dynasties, with none
being earlier than the 12th
Dynasty. There is also an extensive Graeco-Roman cemetery.
Some 26th to 30th Dynasties silver ingots and jewelry that were found at the Athribis
site that
are now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Unfortunately, considerable excavation work needs to be
done in the location quickly, for the area is slowly sinking
even has modern apartment buildings are being built atop it.
It is the Polish-Egyptian Archaeological Mission that is
carrying out this work.

There
work has been concentrated in the northwestern part of the Ptolemaic
quarter, where the remains of workshops and a bath compound had been
found. In the area extending west and southwest of the baths, three
different Ptolemaic strata could be distinguished. The majority of the
ceramic material found here was produced by local workshops. The
vessels demonstrate a continuation of ancient Egyptian traditions or an
imitation of Greek patterns, or a combination of both. Such mixed
traditions are also visible in the terracotta figurines found in the
Ptolemaic strata. Various furnaces and stoves were unearthed, and
workshops for the production of faience vessels and the sculpting of
limestone votive objects could be identified. The excavations of the
Mid-Ptolemaic baths were continued as well.

Ausim is located only about 13 kilometers northwest of Cairo, and is the site of the ancient Egyptian town of Khem.
The Greeks called it Letopolis. It was the capital of the
second Lower Egyptian nome. Ausim is an ancient city, and it,
along with its principle god, Khenty-irty (Khenty-Khem) are
both mentioned in text dating to the Old Kingdom. Though this
god probably had a temple in the city, we have found nothing
of it, and the few scattered and fragmentary remains that have
been found bear the names of Necho II, Psammetichus II,
Hakoris and Nectanebo
I, of the 26th
through 30th
Dynasties.

Behbeit el-Hagar

Behbeit el-Hagar is located about 8 km (5 miles) west of el-Mansura. It is
situated on the Damietta branch of the Nile very near Samannud, which in ancient
times was known as Sebennytos, and was the home of the kings of the 30th
Dynasty. The temple at Behbeit el-Hagar was dedicated to Isis, to whom the 30th
Dynasty kings were particularly devoted.
Egyptologists believe that it was one
of the most important temples to Isis in Egypt, possibly acting as a northern
counterpart of the Isis temple at Philae.
In fact, some inscriptions to Isis in the temple probably
predate those at Philae. Within its enclosure walls, some
remains of the early Ptolemaic Period temple may still be seen. However, the
temple has collapsed, possible as early as the late in Egypt's dynastic history.
Almost uniquely, however, the structure seems to have been built almost entirely
out of granite. So fine are the carved reliefs of the wall decorations, which
well surpasses that found in the Ptolemaic temples of Upper Egypt, that in
classical times one block from the temple was transported to the chief Isis
temple at Rome.

Recently, Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) has decided to use computers to
reconstruct the Temple of Isis there. Plans call for determining the basic layout of the temple,
then replicating that in stone. Accompanying excavations in the area should yield exciting new
information about the Late and Ptolemaic periods.

Tell el-Dab'a

Located just east of Tell el-qirqafa, near the village of el-Khata'na, about
six kilometers north of Faqus in the eastern Nile Delta, this is likely the site
of the Hyksos era capital of Avaris. However, even as early as the 12th Dynasty,
apparently the Egyptian royalty granted liberal access to the
town of Tell el-Dab'a, which seems to have become something
like a free trading town. This probably resulted in the marked
increase in the number of settlers of Syro-Palestinian origin.
Very little remains here, but the site is
apparently being excavated by a Czech team at this time. Other archaeologists in
the region seem to include the Austrian Archaeological
Institute of Cairo and the Institute of Egyptology of the
University of Vienna. It has a complex
history, and New Kingdom building activity by Horemheb and the Ramessids
included a large temple which was probably dedicated to the god, Seth.

Apparently the Austrian teams are investigating a mortuary
precinct with several necropolises dating to the 2nd
Intermediate Period. These included several strata of burials dating from the late 13th Dynasty to the
very end of the Hyksos Period. Three main types of burials were
found, including vaulted mud brick tombs set into pits, simple pit burials, and
infant burials in large vessels of Egyptian and foreign origin.
There are 32 burials in this relatively small area.
Interestingly, most of the tombs were undisturbed.

The
most prominent tomb in the area was orientated NW-SE with the burial
chamber (measuring 2,65 x 1,65 m) and single vault constructed of
mud-bricks. The vault collapsed some time after the covering of the
tomb and seemed therefore to be destroyed by grave-robbers. Luckily,
this conclusion was incorrect. A single skeleton was found in the
entrance area together with a round bottomed cup and a jar. Next to the
northeastern wall a young female servant was buried in a slightly
contracted position looking towards the tomb chamber. The body was
placed in this position at the time of the main burial. Because of the
circumstances of this and other burials of the period there is a strong
possibility that the girl was offered to her master as a human
sacrifice. This would have been a very rare occurrence practically
unheard of since the earliest of of Egypt's history.

Apparently, the owner of the tomb was a soldier. He was buried with
his weapons and an assemblage of different pottery types. Bones of
goats or sheep placed on a dish next to his head are remains of a meat
offering. He wore a copper belt with an attached dagger with five
middle ribs on his left side. In his arms he held a scimitar still in
its sheath. The sword itself was made of copper and well preserved; the
sheath, consisting of an organic material, probably leather, is still
to be examined, the handle was made of bone. The blade is cast with a
riveted socket, it's point voluted and therefore unique. It is the
oldest specimen of this type yet found in Egypt.

An overall
view of the funerary equipment in combination with Egyptian and foreign
goods and Egyptian and foreign habits confirms the typical picture of
most tombs belonging to this period in Tell el-Dab'a. The tomb is
accompanied by several other partly excavated tombs and seems to be at
the center of the group, possibly a hint at social implications.

In addition, the Austrian team has recently unearthed a
number of horse burials at Tell el-Dab'a.

Minor Temple and Other Ruins of the Nile Delta
of Egypt, Part IIby Monroe Edgar

This is the continuation of Part
I in this series examining minor ruins of temples and
other monuments in the Nile Delta. For information on Abusir
(in the Delta), Tell Atrib (Arhribis), Ausim (Letopolis),
Behbeit el-Hagar, and Tell el-Dab'a, as well as a listing of
the major ruins in the Nile Delta, please see Minor Temple and
Other Ruins of the Nile Delta, Part I. In this article, we
will take a look at the sites of Ezbet Rushdi, Tell Far'un
(Tell Fara'un), Kom el-Hisn (ancient Imu), Kom Abu Billo
(known to the Greeks as Terenuthis) and Tell el-Maskhuta nearIsmaliya.
For information on Tell el-Muqdam (Leontopolis), Tell el-Qirqafa and
Tell el-Rub'a (Tell El Robee, Greek Mendes) see part
three in this series and for information on Tell el-Retaba, Saft
el-Hinna, Samannud (Sebennytos) and Tell el-Yahudiya, see
part four.

Ezbet Rushdi

Today known as Ezbet Rushdi el-Saghira, this site near Tell el-Dab'a was
apparently the location of a Middle Kingdom town. The local temple, discovered
during the 1950s by an Egyptian archaeologist named Shehata Adam, seems to have
been founded by Amenemhet
I and probably expanded by Senusret
III in his 5th year of rule. Both of these rulers reigned during Egypt's 12th
Dynasty. The temple was primarily made of mudbrick but had some stone
architectural elements such as doorways and columns. The structure's design was
typical of Middle Kingdom temples, with a small pillared court followed by a
tripartite sanctuary.

In 1996, the Austrian Archaeological Institute under the directorship of Manfred Bietak
decided to re-excavate the temple. It was a major surprise to discover that the temple
wall cut into the structures of an older settlement that stretch beneath it.
This lower strata has yielded a lot of purely domestic pottery, and some pottery types which are
related to cult activities were discovered. Hence, it is believed that there was
probably an earlier temple cult on this site. Canaanite and Aegean pottery, much
of it dating from about the time of Amenemhet
II, was present in most of the substrata, but showed different distribution patterns.
Prior to this excavation, the earliest finds of pottery from the Levant and
Crete dated to the very end of the 12th Dynasty, but these pieces likely date
from the first half or middle of that dynasty.

Tell Far'un

Near the eastern Delta village of el-Huseiniya are the ancient remains of the
Egyptian city named Imet. Today, it is called Tell Far'un, or sometimes Tell
Nabasha or Tell Bedawi. The city was the capital of the local nome and the local deity was
Wadjit
The outlines of a temple enclosure dedicated to her may still be
seen. It measures 215 x 205 meters (705 x 673 ft). From the scant ruins,
there appearss to be two temples within the enclosure. The larger of the two was
a Ramessid era temple measuring 65 x 30 m (213 x 98 ft 6 in). The smaller temple
to the northeast of the Ramessid temple dates from the Late Period, and was 30 x
15m (98 ft 6 in x 49 ft). It was apparently built during the reign of Amasis.
There are usurped architectural elements form Middle Kingdom monuments, which
seems to imply that there was once a temple of that period here as well.

Petrie,
who explored the area, also discovered a cemetery that he
thought turned out to be a very curious place, quite unlike the cemeteries of
Memphis, Abydos, and
Thebes. It consisted of an immense
number of small chambers, or isolated groups of chambers, scattered irregularly over a sandy
plain. These were built of unbaked brick and roofed using
a barrel-vault design. Some of the largest were cased (or lined if subterranean) with limestone. These
tomb chambers dated from about the period of the 20th
Dynasty (Ramessid period). Unfortunately, most of these
tombs had been plundered early on, and some even leveled so
that new tombs could be built.

In one of the earlier tombs no fewer than two hundred uninscribed funerary statuettes in
green-glazed pottery were found. In another, some thirty thousand beads of
glass, silver, and lapis lazuli were also discovered. Bronze spear-heads, amulets,
scarabs and other items were also turned up in considerable numbers. Last, but in point of interest certainly
not least, came the discovery of two sets of masonic
(foundation) deposits under the corners of an unimportant building in the cemetery.
These consisted of miniature mortars, corn-rubbers, and specimen plaques of materials used
in building, such as glazed-ware, various colored marbles, jasper, and the like.

A magnificent gray granite sarcophagus inscribed for a prince and priest of the
26th Dynasty, and part of a limestone statue dedicated to Harpakhrat, the "child
Horus," whose legendary birthplace was in these Delta
marshlands, were also discovered. Among other valuable
items unearthed in the course of Petrie's excavations included
a black granite altar from the reign of Amenemhet
II, two thrones in red sandstone belonging to statues of royal personages of the same
line, a colossal seated statue of Ramesses II in black
granite, and most interesting of all, a headless black granite sphinx, upon
which successive Pharaohs had engraved their cartouches, each in turn erasing
the names and titles of his predecessors.

Kom el-Hisn

Between Kom Abu Billo and Naukratis lies what is left of the ancient town of
Imu (imAw), today known as Kom el-Hisn. In Arabic, Kom el-Hisn
means "Hill of the Fort", probably referring to the
ruins of the local temple.

In text, we find the name of this community mentioned as
early as the 5th
Dynasty, so it is not surprising that at least several
excavations have also revealed a rich Old Kingdom occupation
fairly near the modern ground level, and above the water
table. A large part of the structures so far investigated were
related to food storage and preparation. These included
facilities for large scale grain storage, as well as
specialized structures for cooking, plant and animal
processing. The overall impression is that Kom el-Hisn
functioned as a specialized center for cattle processing. The
community probably sent most of its herds to Memphis
and other cult and settlement areas. In the same nome as Kom el-Hisn
was another town designated as "The Estate of the Cattle," or Hwt-iHwt,
which was one of the oldest of the state foundations in all of Egypt,
dating to the reign of King Den of the
1st Dynasty

Imu was an important New Kingdom local
administrative center as well. In antiquity, it was situated near a branch of the Nile
that has since shifted eastward and was near the desert edge
on the route to the Libyan frontier. A temple of Sekhmet-Hathor
(here, Hathor
is known as Het-Hert) was located in the town, but
all that remains of it today is the outline of a rectangular enclosure. The site
was identified by inscribed statues of Amenemhet
III and Ramesses II found
in the area.

Information about Het-Hert's worship in this location comes from the
New Kingdom grave of Khesuwer. He was a priest of Het-Hert and Supervisor of the Priests and of the temple
precinct. His designation as Chief of the Harem and Chief of the Maidens
probably denotes a position as supervisor of the women who were in the service of Het-Hert. During the
19th Dynasty,
Ramesses II renovated the temple and in the 22nd
Dynasty, Sheshonq
III expanded it. In the Late Period, the town was known as pr-nbt-imau,
meaning "Domain of the Mistress of Imau".
Regrettably, much of the ruins of Kom el-Hisn are rapidly
yielding to agricultural expansion in the area.

Kom Abu Billo (Terenuthis)

Just
outside the town of Tarranam, a name derived from the Coptic era name
of Terenouti,, known in classical times as Terenuthis,
lies the mound of Kom Abu Billo. Actually, Kom Abu Billo refers
specifically to the part of the site where the Greco-Roman
cemetery is found, and this name probably derives from the Greek god
Apollo, who had a temple at the northern edge of the site. The site
lies on the western edge of the Delta about 70 kilometers northwest of Cairo.
It sits on the Rosetta branch of the Nile, and is located on the route to the Wadi
Natrun, today famous for its monasteries but in ancient times a source for
Natrun (salt). The name of the ancient city
appears to be connected with the snake goddess Renenutet
or Termuthis, so we assume that they were important local deities.

However, the area may have been earlier known as
Per-Huthor-nbt-Mefket,
or the "House of Hathor, Lady of Turquoise"". In fact, in 1897,
F.L.I.
Griffith discovered a temple dedicated to this Goddess, who was also worshiped
in the Sinai,. This is an
alternate guise for Hathor
as the Mistress of Mefket (Turquoise). The temple may have been started by Ptolemy
I, the first ruler of Egypt's Greek period, and may have been completed by
his son, Ptolemy II. If so,
it would be one of the few surviving monuments built by the founder of the Greek
Dynasty.

Most
of the excavation of this temple actually took place between 1969 and
1974, when the construction of the Nasser Canal required a salvage
exploration of the site. The ruins of this temple contained blocks with
finely carved bas relief
scenes depicting Ptolemy I and Hathor.
A cattle cemetery associated with the worship of Het-Hert (Hathor)
was also found in the vicinity. In addition faience statues and statuettes
inscribed with hieroglyphs of Yinepu, Aset
(Isis), Taweret and
Bes
were found at this site.

The large cemetery of Kom Abu Billo contains thousands of tombs dating from the
6th Dynasty of the Old Kingdom
through the
4th century AD Coptic Period. The Coptics (Egyptian Christians) were probably established in the area
by St. Poemon, known as one of the fathers of the Egyptian Desert who settled in
the ruins of the pagan temple during the Christian
era. The mud-brick tombs have superstructures which are rectangular or square
with barrel vaulted
roofs or truncated pyramid shapes. New Kingdom ceramic coffins, sometimes
called Philistine type coffins, or "slipper coffins"
with large, often
unusual and grotesque faces
modeled on the lids have been found there, in addition to a special type of
stele made during the first four centuries of the Common Era.

Right: Ptolemy I Sorter from Kom Abu
Billo

These non-Egyptian style stele, called "Terenuthis stelae", depict
the deceased standing with upraised arms between two columns with Greek pediments, or
reclining on a couch. Usually, they have text in demotic or Greek at the base.

Evidence in the tombs suggest that offerings consisting of lettuce, grapes, and wine
for the deceased. On occasions, lamps were lit within the tombs, while music was played.
Hunting and fishing were
common occupations of the people who lived here, but there were also many vintners, potters, jewelers, and other craftsmen.
In addition, the area was known as a major trading center, particularly of wine
and salt (Natrun).

Many ceramic lamps have been found within the tombs
taking the shape of olive branches, Nile fish, and the frog Netjert Heket. In addition, gold
and silver rings, bracelets, gold earrings, necklaces, hair clips, ivory combs, and amulets have
been discovered. Pottery
painted in different colors and dating from the end of the pharaonic period through the Coptic period, plus amphorae, have
also turned up in excavations.

Little evidence of the settlement with which these burials were associated has been found
so precisely what was happening here in the New Kingdom is difficult to
establish. Beyond the cemeteries, the only evidence of activity
during this period seems to be a limestone block which bears the names and titles of
Ramesses II.
Other blocks ascribed to him have also been found in the area.
It is possible that some of the foreigners buried in the
unusual coffins in the
necropolises may have been foreign soldiers employed by Ramesses II in the
battle of Qadesh.

It has been suggests that this site may have been the southernmost in
a chain of fortified settlements, though not much evidence
exists to prove such. The cemeteries seem to indicate that a settlement existed in the area from the
Old Kingdom which might, by the reign of Ramesses II, have
been important enough to have required fortification. If so,
it was because of its location at the head of the ancient route
between the Delta and the Wadi Natrun.

First excavated by Edouard Naville in 1883, Tjeku, known today as Tell el-Maskhuta,
is strategically located in the Wadi Tumilat about 15 km west of the modern Suez
Canal town of Ismaliya.
Here, Naville unearthed a large enclosure (210 x 210 meters (689 x 689
ft), inside of which was a badly ruined temple to the god Atum. Naville believes
it is the biblical city of Pithom (per Atum, meaning house of Atum), related in
the story of the Exodus.

However, a more recent excavation conducted by the University of Toronto
under the direction of J. S. Holladay revealed that the site was founded by
Necho (Nekau) II, well after the probable time of the Exodus. Further, their
excavations showed that the site was probably associated with the building of a
canal, one of the Suez Canal's early predecessors. This canal cut
through the wadi (canyon) and connected with the northern reaches of the Gulf of
Suez. However, soon after Necho the area declined in importance and the canal
became unmanageable. The community seems to have been revived under Ptolemy
II,
who reopened the canal, as well as establishing a mortuary cult to Arsinoe II in
the vicinity.

Minor Temple and Other Ruins of the Nile Delta in Egypt, Part IIIby Monroe Edgar

This is the continuation of Part
II in this series examining minor ruins of temples and
other monuments in the Nile Delta. For information on Abusir
(in the Delta), Tell Atrib (Arhribis), Ausim (Letopolis),
Behbeit el-Hagar, and Tell el-Dab'a, as well as a listing of
the major ruins in the Nile Delta, please see Minor Temple and
Other Ruins of the Nile Delta, Part I. For information on Ezbet
Rushdi, Tell Far'un
(Tell Fara'un), Kom el-Hisn (ancient Imu), Kom Abu Billo
(known to the Greeks as Terenuthis) and Tell el-Maskhuta nearIsmaliya,
please see part
two of the series and for information on Tell el-Retaba, Saft
el-Hinna, Samannud (Sebennytos) and Tell el-Yahudiya, see
part four.

Tell el-Muqdam (Leontopolis)

About 10 kilometers (6.25 miles) southeast of the modern
town of Mit Ghamir on the Damietta branch of the Nile are the
several mounds that represent all that is left of ancient
Taremu (Leontopolis, or "City of the Lions"). The
ancient Egyptian name for the site means, "Land of the
Fish". The remains cover more than 30 hectares (304,260
square meters). Some Egyptologists believe that in
ancient times, this was the home of the kings who ruled during
Egypt's 23rd
Dynasty, though most now locate the capital of this period
at Thebes.
It was also a regional capital during the Greek
(Ptolemaic) Period and was probably the
center of a powerful Delta kingdom during the Third
Intermediate Period (about 1069 through 664 BC). It was also
the ancient capital of the Eleventh Lower Egyptian Nome
(province).

Leontopolis was mentioned by Strabo in his Geography
reference work, and the name appears sporadically in other
classical and coptic documents.

There was once a temple of the local lion-god, Mihos
(hence, Leontopolis, "City of the Lions") located
here, and while ruined, its location has been found on the
eastern part of the site. However, it has not been completely
investigated and the date of this temple is unknown. The
goddess Bastet,
who was considered the mother of Mihos, was probably also
worshipped in the area.

Notable were the excavations of C.C. Edgar in the area that
produced the "Treasures of Queen Kama". Her
apparently undisturbed sarcophagus provided a number of
jewelry and other items, including a grand gilded silver
pectoral with inlayed lazuli and a human headed scorpion
amulet of gold and inlayed agate. A number of bronze inlay
statues of Mihos (the lion) were also discovered in the
area.

Apparently, current excavations are being conducted at Tell
el-Muqdam by UC Berkeley under the direction of Carol A.
Redmount and Dr. Renee Friedman.. One of this group's
objectives is to document these comparatively well preserved
ruins in order to enhance our understanding of history
including the development and the character of Egyptian urbanism,
particularly in the Delta region. They also hope to gain
valuable information on the Third Intermediate Period of
Egypt's history, a time we know relatively little about, but
this focus seems to be shifting into the Persian period.

No discoveries have been made that date prior to the
Third Intermediate Period, when it is now believed the
cities were founded (the newer Roman city was built beside
the more ancient city).

Of the 24 sites documented at the turn of the century,
only 9 still survive, due to the expansion of local
agricultural land.

The site was probably originally located on the ancient
Mendesian Nile branch, which slowly migrated eastward over
a period of time, with the development of the area
expanding towards this migration.

There is considerable evidence at the site suggesting
trade with Greece and the Levant.

One of the remaining sites located about a kilometer
from Muqdam produced Third Intermediate Period pottery.
Unfortunately, this site has recently been turned over to
farmers for agricultural use.

Atop the ruins were discovered a red granite torso of Ramesses
II, and a red granite block with some of his titles.

Other surface discoveries include objects dating mainly
from the Saite Period (664-525 BC) through the Late
Roman/Coptic Period (about the 4th Century AD).

From test excavations, a number of small items have been
discovered. These test indicate that remains date from the
Roman, Greek, Persian and Saite periods, and include
domestic, industrial, monumental and possibly cult
elements. Small items that have been discovered include erotic figurines, mostly male, a number of terra
cottas, glass, amulets, including a wadjet eye mold,
stamped jar handles originating outside of Egypt, a few
sculpture fragments and many potsherds.

The ruins of the site extend far beyond the ground water
level. The bottom level of these layers has not yet been
completely identified, but it seem that the lowest
level may be as much as four or more meters below the water
level in places. Most of the earliest remains are, of
course, beneath this ground water level.

According to information provided to these excavators by
locals, a cache of statues discovered here was smuggled
out of Egypt as late as the 1970s.

Some of the latest excavations have demonstrated that
during the Saite period, and especially during the Persian
period, the occupation of the site was very large and
important. A number of different districts within the area
have been identified, including an elite domestic district (Carnel
Station), a non-elite domestic district (Qasr Station) and an
industrial sector (Iuput Station). Within the domestic
districts, the excavators have identified neighborhood
fragments, including roads and houses. Apparently within this
last district was located what was probably a Greek period
bronze smelting installation.

Tell el-Qirqafa

Tell el-Qirqafa is located near the village of el-Kjhata'na
about 6 kilometers (3.75 miles) north of Faqus. It is in the eastern
Delta. There was apparently a temple located
here that dated from the Middle Kingdom sometime between the
reigns of Amenemhet
I and Senusret
III. We have not identified the deity or deities that were
worshipped in the temple, but the remains of a granite
entrance gate and a small pillared hall are known to
Egyptologists.

Recent excavations in the area have demonstrated three distinctive
strata, with the deepest dating to the late Hyksos period and
the latest to the New
Kingdom. Recent objects discovered
include, surprisingly, fragments of Minoan painted wall
plaster and some 15- scarabs, 18 of which bear royal names of
the early 8th Dynasty(First
Intermediate Period).

Tell el-Rub'a (Tell El Robee, Greek Mendes)

The remains of the ancient sixteenth nome capital Djedet,
or Per-banebdjedet (Greek Mendes), which means "House of
the Ram Lord of djedet", are located in the northern
Delta
near the modern village of el-Simbellawein. It may have
originally been known as Enebet to the ancient Egyptians.
Known today as Tell el-Rub'a, it could have served as a royal
residence or even the capital of the 29th
Dynasty.

The site has seen several excavations, mostly by North
American groups including the University of Toronto and
Pennsylvania Statue University team led by Donald Redford.
Apparently some of the latest work of this group has focused
on an Old Kingdom necropolis estimated to contain over 9,000
interments.

Mendes was referred to in the sarcophagi Book as the Ba dwellers where Re and
Osiris met
and their Ba unified to conceive their son. Mendes was also mentioned in the geographic list
carved over the white compartment in the Karnak
temple. The area is rich in monuments and remains of
Egypt's Old Kingdom and has proven to also contain artifacts
from the predynastic eras.

The worship of a ram god (Amun
Re) in this area was
ancient, and increased in importance as the god was associated
with the soul (ba) of Osiris, Re and all the other gods. Along
with a temple to this god, there were no doubt others
dedicated to a number of different deities.

Remains at the site include a Late Period (or New Kingdom)
temple enclosure probably originally built by Amasis
(Ahmosis), and later restored by Ptolemy
II Philadelphus. This architectural element is still
visible, along with a red granite naos. The naos was
originally one of four that might have been related to the
first four divine generations manifested in the ram god,
consisting of Re, Shu,
Geb and
Osiris. The naos is approximately eight meters (26 ft) tall.
Beneath the temple, the remains of an earlier temple possibly
of the Middle Kingdom have
been discovered. Beneath the Middle
Kingdom temple, stratification remains apparently date to the First
Intermediate Period. Apparently, a fire occurred about
this time period (end of the Old Kingdom or
First Intermediate
Period). Burnt mudbrick was discovered, along with the bodies
of victims who were apparently attempting to escape the
fire.

South of the Late Period temple, the remains of an Old
Kingdom Temple have also been unearthed.

While not much else is clearly visible, recent excavations
have found a number of New Kingdom monuments built by
kings such as Ramesses
II, Merenptah
and Ramesses
III. Some of these monuments may have been relocated
here after Pi-Ramesse was abandoned.

In addition to temples, Tel er-Rub'a has produced the remains
of mortuary, industrial, and residential areas.

Minor Temple and Other Ruins of
the Nile Delta in Egypt, Part IVby Monroe Edgar

This is the continuation of Part
III in this series examining minor ruins of temples and
other monuments in the Nile Delta. Part IV is the final in
this series, and covers Tell el-Retaba, Saft el-Hinna, Samannud
(Sebennytos) and Tell el-Yahudiya. For information on Abusir
(in the Delta), Tell Atrib (Arhribis), Ausim (Letopolis),
Behbeit el-Hagar, and Tell el-Dab'a, as well as a listing of
the major ruins in the Nile Delta, please see Minor Temple and
Other Ruins of the Nile Delta, Part I. For information on Ezbet
Rushdi, Tell Far'un
(Tell Fara'un), Kom el-Hisn (ancient Imu), Kom Abu Billo
(known to the Greeks as Terenuthis) and Tell el-Maskhuta nearIsmaliya,
please see Part
II of the series. For information on Tell el-Muqdam,
Tell el-Qirqafa and Tell el-Rub'a, see Part
III of this series.

Tell el-Retaba

Tell el-Retaba is the site of a fortified military fortress
used to guard the Wadi Tumilat approach to the Delta during
Ramessid times. It is located about 14 kilometers (8.75 miles)
west of Tell
el-Maskhuta in the Nile Delta. Along with the
fortification, there is also a temple of Atum that also dated
from the Ramessid period.

Just to the southeast of the modern city of Zagazig
in the Nile Delta is the site of an ancient provincial capital
named Per-Sopdu (The House of Sopdu). Sopdu, sometimes
referred to as Sopedu, Soped, or Sopedu-Horus, was a falcon
style god who came to be very revered in the eastern region as
a warrior god and protector of the eastern frontier. He was
often represented either as a crouching falcon or as a bearded
man wearing a Shesmet girdle and a headdress of two falcon
feathers, often carrying a scepter, a battle-axe and an Ankh
sign. Here, in 1885, Edouard
Naville discovered the enclosure walls of a temple
dedicated to that god, measuring 75 x 40 meters (246 x 131
ft). Inside the enclosure wall he discovered a Late Period
granite naos of Sopdu built by Nactanebo
I. Little of the artifacts discovered in the area predate
the reign of Ramesses
II.

Located
on the Damietta branch of the Nile in the Egyptian Delta, the
modern town of Samannud, a cotton marketing center, is just
east of el-Mahalla el-Kubra, and is the site of ancient
Tjebnutjer (coptic Djebenoute or Djemnouti), which the Greeks
called Sebennytos. It was the capital of Egypt's 12th Lower
nome. Manetho, perhaps the greatest of the native Egyptian
historians, was from this region, and claims that Tjebnutjer
was the home of the 30th
Dynasty kings. There are remains, though mostly only a
mound, of a temple dedicated to the local god, Onuris-Shu
(Anhur-Shu)
who was a hunter and sky-god. It was probably at this temple
that Manetho served as a priest. It is located on the western
side of the modern town. There are scattered granite
blocks from the site inscribed with the names of Nectanebo
II,
Alexander IV, Philip Arrhidaeus and Ptolemy
II, with none of the inscriptions appearing to predate the
30th Dynasty. Some items found here are said to have come from
neighboring towns, including an Old Kingdom false door, an
altar of Amenemhet
I, a statue dated to Psammetichus
I, a fragment of a shrine of Nepherites and a sculpture
dating to the reign of Nactanebo
I.

Tell
el-Yahudiya, also known as "Mound of the Jews, is located
only about 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) northeast of Cairo
on the Ismailiya
road. This is the site of ancient Nay-ta-hut, which dates from
at least as early as the Middle Kingdom. Here we find a huge earthen
enclosure wall measuring some 515 x 490 meters (1,689 x 1607
ft), that was excavated by Petrie
between about 1905 and 1906. This structure that dates from
either the Middle Kingdom or the Second
Intermediate Period is traditionally thought to be a
military enclosure, but could possibly have had a religious
purpose, or served as a perimeter wall for both military and
religious structures. There are no other good Egyptian parallels
for such a massive defensive enclosure wall such as this. The
walls are plastered over and have sloping outside facades and
that are almost vertical on the interior.

In
the western part of the enclosure wall there was a temple
and/or palace of Ramesses
III, and colossal statues of Ramesses
II found in the northern part of the enclosure suggest
that ruler may also have had a cult temple here. In the
structure associated with Ramesses III, early scholars
discovered enameled tiles imprinted on their back side with
Greek letters, with some also bearing the name of Ramesses
III. They were decorated with rosettes, rekhyt birds symbolic
of the king's subjects, and foreign captives.

Right: a Polychrome faience tile with a depiction of a
captive Libyan, one of the traditional enemies of Egypt.

This site is especially noted for a type of pottery dating
to the Hyksos period and the Middle Kingdom. It is
characterized by a type of juglet, named after the site, and
found as far away as Syprus, Syria/Palestine and in the
ancient Nubian towns of Buhen and Aniba. Known as Tell
el-Yahudiya ware, the juglets were made in a distinctive black
fired material which was often decorated with incised zigzag
designs filled with white pigment.

Outside the enclosure wall to the northeast are also the
remains of a temple that Ptolemy
VI allowed Onias, an exiled Jewish priest, to build. Here,
Onias established a small Jewish settlement that flourished
between the early 2nd Century BC and the 1st Century AD.
Vespasian had the temple enclosed when, in 71 AD, the Jews in
Jerusalem rebelled.

Any fan of ancient Egypt is familiar with the rescue work
performed by Egypt and the world community in Nubia
in order to
save monuments located there from the rising waters of Lake Nasser created by the
High Aswan Dam.
More than 22 missions from all over the world were actively excavating
for the buried treasures over which the Nubians were living. Many, many
monuments were saved, some re-erected near their original locations on
high ground, a number of others moved to Khartoum in the Sudan, while
still other small temples were
actually given away to foreign governments who assisted in the
rescue operation. These latter temples included the Temple of
Debod, now located at City Park in Madrid Spain, The
temple of Dendur housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York,
the rock cut temple of el-Lessiya at Museo Egizio in Turn,
Italy, the gateway of the temple of Kalabsha in the
Agyptisches Museum in Berlin, Germany, and the Taffa Temple at
Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden, Netherlands.

A temple from Semna, kumma (Semna East), two of the temples
located at the famous fortress of Buhen, a temple from Aksha (Serra
West) and the rock cut tomb of Djehutihotpe were all moved to
Khartoum in the Sudan.

What we hear less about is the temples and structures that
were lost to the waters of Lake Nasser. Certainly, many
ancient towns, and some huge fortresses lay deep beneath this
massive lake, together with a number of notable temples. Here,
we wish to examine as best we can some of these temples that
now are lost.

Quban (Kuban)

Quban, know to the
Egyptians as Baki and o the Greeks as
Contra Pselchis, stood on the east bank of the Nile just
across from Dakka. It was a fortress probably built
at the beginning of the 12th Dynasty by
Senusret
I, but it may
have had an Old Kingdom Precursor. Many of the most important
sites lost to Egyptologists beneath the waters of Lake Nasser
were Nubian fortresses, and were perhaps more important for
this reason than for their small temples. Unfortunately, these
fortress could probably have never been saved from Lake Nasser,
for unlike the temples that were moved, they were mostly made
of mudbrick.

During the New Kingdom Quban was one of the more important
Egyptian centers in Nubia controlling the gold mines of Wadi 'Allaqi.
It contained several temple, of which little today is known.
Apparently, a number of blocks from this temple were latter
used at the nearby Temple of Dakka that was itself saved from
the waters of Lake Nasser.

Faras (Pachoras)

Faras was an important center in Nubia. During the third
century, it was an important town of the Meroe kingdom, and
from the eight century it was the capital city of the Christian
bishops in Nubia. In fact, this site is perhaps more famous as
an early Christian center then for its pharaonic
monuments.

This site, which originally stood on the west bank of the
Nile between Abu Simbel and the Wadi Halfa, had a destroyed
18th Dynasty
temple of Tutankhamun and an early New Kingdom rock-cut chapel
of Hathor of Ibshek (perhaps originally constructed by
Tuthmosis III). The latter temple was enlarged in the reigns
of Tutankhamun and Ramesses
II. The temple built by
Tutankhamun was designed on a symmetrical plan, consisting of
a square courtyard bordered on either side by a portico (2
rows of columns). It also contained a hypostyle hall with 12
columns and a sanctuary with annexes. There were hundreds of
Thmosid blocks discovered at this site that where probably
removed from the temple at Buhen next tot he second
cataract.

In addition to the temples unearthed at Faras, there was
also the ruins of an early Christian basilica dating to the
seventh or eighth century, the ruins of a bishop's palace, an
early monastery and other ruins. Over 120 Byzantine-Coptic
style paintings in tempera on dry plaster were removed
from these sites, many of which remain in Sudanese museums and
the National Museum in Warsaw.

Mirgissa was located in the region of the Nile's second
cataract on the west bank of the Nile about 15 kilometers
south of Wadi Halfa. Here, a small New Kingdom Middle Kingdom temple of
Hathor was built, perhaps replacing an earlier
structure. However, like many of he sites lost beneath Lake
Nasser, Mirgissa is again more familiar to us as a fortress
then for its temples.

Of course, the list of possible archaeological sites that
were lost to the waters of Lake Nasser are more then simply
numerous. Great heritages were lost, but at the same time, one
must first place importance on the living, and most of the
population in this part of Africa, particularly Egypt, will
not argue the value of the Aswan High Dam in their modern
culture.

Most every Egyptian enthusiast is familiar with the ancient temples at the north
of Lake Nasser,
specifically at Philae.
And they are equally familiar with Abu Simbel far to the south. Far more
obscure are the temples that lie in between, south of the High Dam and North of Abu
Simbel along Lake Nasser. The land in between these monuments was once known
a part of Nubia.
When the High Dam was being built, many of these temples were moved during the
salvage operation between 1964 and 1968.

Just south of the High Dam is New Kalabsha, which can be reached by bus or
taxi from Aswan with just a 30 minute drive. Therefore, the main Temple
of Kalabsha will also be familiar to many readers. The temple was
moved to New Kalabsha during the salvage operation, and is the largest
freestanding Egyptian temple in Nubia. It was built by Agustus Ceasar (27
BC - 24 AD) and dedicated to Osiris,
Isis and Mandulis. The half finished
column capitals, and fragments of relief decorations of the temple provide
considerable insight about ancient Egyptian construction and carving
techniques.

Just south of the High Dam is New Kalabsha, which can be reached by bus or
taxi from Aswan with just a 30 minute drive. Therefore, the main Temple
of Kalabsha will also be familiar to many readers. The temple was
moved to New Kalabsha during the salvage operation, and is the largest
freestanding Egyptian temple in Nubia. It was built by Agustus Ceasar (27
BC - 24 AD) and dedicated to Osiris,
Isis and Mandulis. The half finished
column capitals, and fragments of relief decorations of the temple provide
considerable insight about ancient Egyptian construction and carving
techniques.

Connected by a path to the Roman era Kalabsha temple is the older Beit
al-Wadi temple (the House of the Holy Man) that was also moved to New Kalabsha.
This small rock-cut temple was originally fronted by a mud-brick pylon which was
not moved, and consisted of an entrance hall, a hypostyle hall and a sanctuary.
It is a delightful temple with painted decorations in reds, blues and greens
that retain most of their original brilliance. In the entrance to the
temple scenes of Ramesses II show him smiting his enemies, often accompanied by
his pet lion. In the sanctuary are seated statues of Ramesses II and deities
such as Horus, Isis
and Khnum.

The other Nubian monuments are much more difficult to visit, and are rarely
included in generalized tours. They generally require either a multi-day
Lake Nasser cruise, or some may be visited on an overland trip to Abu Simbel.

Unfortunately the remains of Gerf Hussein
are very fragmentary. It was
built by Setau who was a viceroy of Kush during Ramesses II's reign.
Originally a combination rock-cut and freestanding temple similar to
Abu
Simbel,
it was dedicated to Ramesses II,
Ptah, and Ptah-Tatenen
(a Nubian-Egyptian
creator god). As at Abu Simbel, gods were carved out of the rock in the
sanctuary.

The Temple of Dakka, a Ptolemaic temple originally situated forty miles north of its present location.
Built using fragments of an older 18th Dynasty temple (possibly built by an
Ethiopian king Arkamani), it was dedicated to Thoth of the
Sycamore Fig. The
axis of the temple runs parallel with what was once the river.

Close by is the temple of Mahararqa which once stood fifty miles to the north. It was dedicated to
Isis and Serapis, but the decoration was never completed. The most important
remains are those of the hypostyle hall.

Temple at Wadi as-Subua

Just south of the Dakka Temple is Wadi
as-Subua (Wadi es-Sebua) where two
temples are located. It is known as the Valley of the Lions because of the
sphinxes that once lined the avenue leading to the first temple. It was
constructed by Amenhotep III and added to by
Ramesses II. Unfortunately,
most of the decorations were defaced by early
Christians. The front is
free standing and the rear was rock-cut. This temple consists of a
sanctuary, a court, a hall and pylons. It was originally dedicated to the
Nubian version of Horus, but was later rededicated to Amun-Re.

The second temple of Ramesses II,
Re-Harakhte (a sun god), and Amun-Re was
moved about three kilometers (two miles) to the west from its original
location. This temple was also also originally free standing and rock-cut.

The next
temple is Amada, the oldest of the temples, going back to the 18th
dynast with restoration work from the 19th dynasty. Tuthmosis
III, Amenhotep
II, and Tuthmosis
IV
were all involved with its construction, and Seti I
restored sections of it. The fine preservation of the temple is due to
Christians plastering over the reliefs. The temple, dedicated to
Amun-Re and
Re-Harakhte, contains an inscription relating the crushing of a Libyan-backed rebellion
by King Merneptah (1212-1202 BC). At the back of the temple inscriptions tell
about the famous wars in Syria of Amenhotep IIs and how he bought back the bodies of rebel chieftains to
hang on the walls of Thebes. One body was hung from the prow of his ship sailing through Nubia as a
warning. This temple was moved about two kilometers (one mile) from its original
site.

Nearby is the temple of
Derr, built by Ramesses II and dedicated to himself,
Amun-Re, Re-Harakhte and Ptah.. This rock-cut temple is well decorated
with bright, visible colors and was
moved from near the Amada temple in 1964. There is also the tomb of Pennut
here that originally stood at Aniba. Pennut was an administrator in Nubia during the reign of
Ramesses VI and is shown
receiving honors from him in this rock-cut tomb. However, large sections of wall inscriptions have been
cut away.

The last site before Abu Simbel is a large, mostly flooded island at Qasr
Ibrim.
It once housed as many as six temples and a Roman era fort, encompassing an
expanse of historic periods including the pharaonic, Roman, Christian and
Arab/Nubian eras. It was the last bastion of paganism in Nubia. Tourists could once visit the site, but damage by boats and
foot traffic in the mostly mudbrick ruins have led to the Egypt Exploration Society
convincing the Antiquities Council to bar tourists from the site. Boats still stop for a look however.
At one time prior to the rise of Lake Nasser, it could be visited by a land
bridge.

From the Pharaonic period there are remains of 18th and
25th dynasty temples,
as well as rock-cut shrines to different pharaohs and various gods dating to the
18th and 19th dynasties. Roman period remains include a sizeable fortress
probably from the time of Augustan. Also notable are the remains of a
large basilica. Many artifacts such as leather, manuscripts, pottery as
well as animal and botanical remains have provided considerable information on
the daily life of people living at Qasr Ibrim.

Abydos
in Middle Egypt is an ancient holy place and burial ground of the
rulers of the late prehistoric proto-kingdom, as well as the first
attested kings of the politically unified Egyptian state. Buildings
constituting the settlement area in northern Abydos dating back to Predynastic times have been found around Kom
es-Sultan, while recent excavators have found an Old Kingdom
residential area to the south-east which contains a street of mudbrick
houses with courtyards and a faience workshop with its kilns.

North Abydos

This was perhaps the principal region for the worship
of the godOsiris, who gained popularity to such an extent
that, from the Middle Kingdom on, a ritual journey to Abydos
was often depicted in private tombs from other parts of Egypt.
In fact, Osiris continued to gain popularity throughout most
of Egypt's ancient history. Hence, it is no surprise that a
number of kings built temple in this location.

To the northwest of the Ramesses II temple in an area known as Kom es-Sultan was an
ancient mudbrick temple, probably dating to the Old Kingdom, dedicated to the god
Khenty-Amentiu (or Khentiamentiu) 'Foremost of the Westerners',
who was a major funerary deity. Later he became associated with Osiris as god
of the dead and was eventually completely synchronized with
Osiris.

Artifacts representing kings dating from the
Early Dynastic Period to
Graeco-Roman times have been found here but little of the structure survives today.
These include a fragment of a vase of the 1st dynasty king
Aha, as well as small figures of men and animals of the same
period. However, most of the rulers of the Old Kingdom are
attested here, as are a number of rulers of the Middle and New
Kingdoms, including Amenhotep
I, Tuthmosis III and Amenhotep
III, who all undertook rebuilding projects here.

Mostly what remains of this temple is its wall, which
eventually became known as the enclosure of the Temple of
Osiris. Little, with the exception of doorways, was
constructed of stone and so most has been lost.

By the Middle Kingdom, this temple had become completely
associated with Osiris, and would have been a significant
nationally within Egypt, for it was almost certainly here that
the annual Festival of Osiris originated. The cult statue of
this god was moved in his portable barque, carried on the
shoulders of priests from this temple to his supposed tomb on
the mound known as Umm el Ga'ab.

In
fact, it is likely that the area of Kom es-Sultan was crowded with
temples by the Middle Kingdom and a new complex of private chapels
developed along the escarpment overlooking the Osiris temple. By then,
the pilgrimage to Abydos would have been an important part of religious
life with many kings adding to the Temple of Osiris.

12th Dynasty king Senusret III adding a temple to the Abydos collection at the western edge of the desert to the
southeast of Seti's temple. However, there is now little remaining above the
sands, and yet, this has been called one of the best preserved
temples from Egypt's Middle Kingdom.

In 1994 Josef Wegner re-excavated and re-studied the severely damaged temple complex built
for Senusret
III, with important results. The temple proper had
been entirely removed in antiquity, but Wegner's painstaking excavations located part of its
outline, scratched by builders on the stone platform upon which the temple had stood. The
temple's approximate size is now known. Moreover, the brick-built wings of the temple,
identified as doorless storerooms, turned out to be interconnected chambers, integral to the
temple itself. Most important of all, hundreds of decorated fragments, reflecting the temple's
function and overlooked earlier, were also recovered.

We know know that this temple consisted of a limestone cult
building sitting at the center of a larger rectangular
mudbrick building. Of course, the decorative theme in painted
reliefs depicts Senusret III showing his eternal association
with Osiris. There were many statues made of alabaster and red
quartzite that adorned the temple, which also included housing
for the priests who maintained the cult of Senusret III. Peripheral
to the temple were storage magazine and even a town which was
associated with the temple estate.

Either the real, or cenotaph tomb of Senusret III lies further to the
west. Dieter Arnold seems to believe that this structure is
the actual burial place of Senusret III. In any event, this
tomb is arguably the largest of any underground tomb in Egypt.
The temple and the tomb together represented a funerary
complex that was called "Enduring are the Places of
Khakaure justified in Abydos".

Ramesses I
and now destroyed, stood between the principal Ramesses II temple and
Seti's temple. However, on the southwestern side of the walls of the
Osiris temple Ramesses II also built a limestone 'Portal Temple' which
probably represented the entrance to the ancient cemetery area.
Petrie noted that the "temple" was very different
from any other and it was he that suggested that it could be
the terminus of a processional ritual. Unfortunately, the
ruined condition of the rear section of the temple makes a
complete reconstruction of its original plan or decorative
theme impossible at this time.

However, excavations beneath the floor of the Ramesses II
Portal Temple have also revealed a dense complex of vaulted
mudbrick structures that appear to date to the Middle Kingdom.
They take the form of tomb chapels, but have no burial chamber
or any actual human remains. Hence, these too were probably
memorial chapels or cenotaphs.

The Other Temples on the West Bank at Thebes
in Egypt, Part Iby Mark Andrews

Mention the West
Bank at Luxor
(ancient Thebes)
and most people who have any knowledge of ancient
Egypt may think of the tombs in the Valley
of the Kings, the Ramesseum
and the Temple
of Hatshepsut,
as well as a few other monuments. But this vast necropolis
is almost unimaginatively complex, and beyond the many
thousands of tombs, obscure temples and chapels ruins dot
this landscape. In this short series of articles, we will
examine "the other temples" of the West Bank. It
should be noted that the reason most of these temples are
fairly unknown is that nothing much physically remains of
them for the most part. Major temples that we have already
documented include

The Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III
on the West Bank at Luxorby Mark Andrews

Amenhotep III
built not only the largest temple at Thebes
(on the West
Bank at Luxor), but in Egypt, measuring 700 by 550
meters. It covered 385,000 square meters (4,200,000 square
feet). It was even larger than the temple of Amun-Re
at Karnak.
The temple's architect was also named Amenhotep, but was the
son of Hapu. Unfortunately, it seem that the temple began to
decay rapidly, and during the reign of Merenptah,
it was actively used as a source of limestone blocks for the
temple
of that ruler.

The reason for this was perhaps a brilliant, but
regrettable religious concept. The temple was apparently uniquely
built on the flood plain. The temple was purposely built so
low that the inundation
of the Nile
would flood its outer courts and halls, probably leaving
only the inner sanctuary, built on a knoll above water
level, dry. Thus, when the water receded, the whole temple
symbolized the emergence of the world from the primeval waters
of creation. Of course, this did nothing for the
temple's preservation, particularly considering that many of
the temple walls were built of mudbrick. Aggravating the
destruction, many of the massive sandstone pylons and
columns were far too heavy for the weak or even missing
foundations upon which they were built.

However, we do have Amenhotep III's own description of
the complex:

"He did (it) as his monument for (his) father
Amen, lord of the throne of the two lands, making for him
a splendid temple on the right of Thebes; a fortress of
eternity out of good white sandstone - worked with gold
throughout. Its floors were purified with silver,
all its doorways were of electrum..."

Much of the temple was build during the last ten years of
Amenhotep III rule and in conjunction with his three Sed-festivals.

Though this temple has never been fully investigated, the
only real remains seem to be the two huge statues we call
the Colossi
of Memnon, along with a few fragments of pylons, and
various statues and column fragments A quartzite stela which
has been re-erected but was probably originally one of a
pair set up at the entrance to the court describes Amenhotep
III's building accomplishments. Also, in the vicinity of the
Solar court there are many column bases, though they are
overgrown and difficult to spot, along with fragments of
standing statues of Amenhotep III as Osiris.
Some of the huge column bases are important to
Egyptologists, because they reveal foreign place names known
in the time of Amenhotep III, including references to the
Aegean.

Other statues discovered in the area depict the goddess Sekhmet,
sphinxes, some with the bodies of crocodiles and other
deities. Ancient documents tell us that there was one seated
and one standing statue of Sekhmet for each day of the year.
Many other colossal statues were built here, including a
pair of striding figures of the king that flanked the
northern entrance to the temple, fragments of which also
still remain. In fact, some Egyptologists believe that some
of the colossal statues in the Ramesseum,
including the famous fallen statue of "Ozymandia",
were probably usurped from the Amenhotep III complex.

Of course, the Colossi of Memnon actually portray
Amenhotep III. Due to an earthquake in 27 BC, these statues
became known for a bell like tone that usually occurred in
the morning due to rising temperatures and humidity. Thus
they were equated by the early Greek travelers
with the
figure of Memnon, the son of Aurora who's mother, Eos, was
the goddess of dawn. The Roman emperor Septimius Severus,
seeking to repair the statues, inadvertently silenced them
forever.

Left: Side of the Colossi of Memnon
showing Nile gods uniting plants of Upper and Lower Egypt

These colossal statues set at the front of the temple,
which was located almost directly across the Nile from the Temple
of Luxor at Kom el-Hetan. Behind them were two massive
courtyards with other seated, colossal statues. There were a
total of three pylons. In front of the second set of pylons
were two additional quartzite colossal statues, and before
the third pylon stood two additional colossal statues made
of alabaster. Betsy Bryan has suggested that this was the
largest sculptural program in history.

A long processional way similar to that built by the king
in the Luxor Temple, lined with sphinxes, stretched from the
innermost pylons to a large peristyle solar court.

A considerable part of the temple was dedicated to Amen,
but it is also known that the northern part of the temple
was devoted to the Memphite deity Ptah, or Ptah-Sokar-Osiris
to whom Amenhotep also built a temple in honor of in
Memphis.

There is also a small, separate limestone temple
dedicated to Ptah-Sokar-Osiris in the northern part of the
compound. It had its own gateway flanked by two quartzite
standing statues of Amenhotep III. However, it was so
destroyed by stone thieves that we can barely guess at its
ground plan.